Bettina Würth ( /wuːrth/ ''woor-th'' born October 9, 1961) is a German-born Swiss businesswoman, billionaire and chairwoman of the advisory board of Würth Group. She is a granddaughter of company founder Adolf Würth and eldest daughter of

Reinhold Würth Reinhold Würth (born 20 April 1935) is a German businessman and art collector. In 1954, at the age of 19, he took over his father's wholesale screw business and built it into the Würth Group, which posted €19.9 billion (US$21.68 billion) in ...

and therefore member of the Würth family. Würth is among the wealthiest Swiss citizens with an estimated net worth of CHF 3-3.5 billion.

Early life and education

Würth was born October 9, 1961, in

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; 'Swabian Hall'; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the N ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

the youngest child to

and his wife Carmen (née Linhardt). Her grandfather founded the German screw wholesale concern Würth Group in 1945. He has one sister, Marion Würth, who initially was active as an organic farmer and now is active in the communications industry. Her brother, Markus Würth, is mentally retarded due to an injury in vaccination. The Würth family are members of the

New Apostolic Church The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian denomination, Christian church of the Catholic Apostolic Church, Irvingian tradition. Its origins are in 1863, in the split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during a schism in Hamburg, Ger ...

. She attended a boarding school, however wanted to become a dancer, and dropped out of school in 11th grade. After that she initially moved to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

where she worked as a trainee in a

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

. Back then she didn't have close contact to her parents and had the strong desire to be independent. However, in 1984, she returned and completed a commercial apprenticeship in the family concern.

Career

After completing her apprenticeship, Würth was engaged in several divisions of the

Würth The Würth Group (, ) is a worldwide wholesaler of fasteners, screws and screw accessories. Würth expanded its range and today offers a full range of business equipment for craft businesses in a kind of supermarket of its own. Würth offers dow ...

concern, also in positions abroad. In 1992, she was promoted by her father to personal assistant of the manager of the wood division. Several positions led her to work in Spain and also in Switzerland where she met her future husband. In 1996, she formed the company Marion & Bettina Würth GmbH & Co KG, an agency for live communications which subsequently was engaged to develop the new division of Würth Construction in Germany. In 1998, she became a member of the management of Würth Group. She currently serves as the chairwoman of the advisory board of Würth Group. She is also a member of the supervisory board of the Adolf Würth Foundation.

Personal life

Würth is married to Swiss Markus Johannes Baptist Rusch, who took the last name of his wife. They have four children. Due to her marriage she also holds Swiss citizenship.In: 17 March 2011 (bei stimme.de etrieved 18 March 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wurth, Bettina 1961 births Living people German businesspeople Swiss businesspeople People from Schwäbisch Hall German billionaires Swiss billionaires Businesspeople from Baden-Württemberg 20th-century German businesswomen 20th-century German businesspeople 21st-century German businesswomen 21st-century German businesspeople German industrialists 20th-century Swiss businesswomen 20th-century Swiss businesspeople 21st-century Swiss businesswomen 21st-century Swiss businesspeople